Album Review: Defocus – In The Eye Of Death We Are All The Same (Arising Empire)

German metalcore quartet Defocus are ready to make their mark with their debut album In The Eye Of Death We Are All The Same, due for release on 2nd July 2021 via Arising Empire.

Founded by Simon Müller, Jeffrey Uhlmann, Jonas Mahler and Marcel “Bambam” Heberling, Defocus spent time making music together before coming to light in early 2019, instantly proving their worth in the scene with their energetic live shows.

Faced with the global COVID-19 pandemic, Defocus got to work on their upcoming record through extensive late-night online sessions, allowing every member to contribute their individual ideas and emotions.

Guitarist Jeffrey Uhlmann comments:

I remember that when we started to write all this material, everyone was on the same page from the beginning and we knew exactly which direction we wanted to go, but at the same time everyone took inspiration from different sources. Seeing all this material finally come together in the end makes me super happy, because the writing process and everything around it really defined who we are as a band and resulted in a pure milestone everyone in the band can 100% identify with.

Vocalist Simon Müller adds:

Await hell and heaven to open the gates, bury the masses in a common grave. Regardless of ranks and positions, In The Eye Of Death We Are All The Same’, from the track ‘Common Grave’, perfectly represents the overall theme and mood of the album.

Mankind still tends to be living an egoistic lifestyle and there’s probably a reason why we’re not considered as ‘social’ beings. That being said, while the world turns upside down and everything seems to get worse and worse, everyone will die alone in the end.

Barbaric as fuck but with clever and interesting melody, Defocus attempt to make their mark on a bloated metalcore scene by going the bludgeoning route. You’ll pay attention to Defocus, simply because they’re smashing you over the head with their music.

Dizzying and disorienting, the moments of melodic levity are what you need to grasp hold of to not fall flat on your face. It might not sound like much fun but it really is a blast. Through gritted teeth and a pounding headache, it’s not possible to keep the smile from spreading.

It’s an inferno of ferocity that greets on the first few tracks. Thought of a Vision, In Our Heads, Immerse Me and Common Graves are passionate displays of aggression with heartfelt melodic moments here and there. A nice amount of variety, it’s the energy that the band exude that proves to the most infectious thing about these first set of tracks (and what comes after).

Tides sits in the middle of the album as a short effects-driven intermission before Defocus come back with a bang on Diverge. Although, here they didn’t come alone as The Oklahoma Kid vocalist Tom Brümmer lends his mighty voice to proceedings. The end result is an absolute beast of a track and one of the heaviest of the album.

The latter portion of the album doesn’t see Defocus drop the intensity and the frantic and frenzied instrumentation remains front and centre. Can You See Me’s riffs are blistering and the melodic drops, enlightening. Disease is a bouncy barn-burner that makes you dream of the pit and Shelter shows just how much depth the more melodic side of the band has.

A modern metalcore act to get excited about. Keep your eyes on Defocus, they’re going to be huge.

Defocus – In the Eye of Death We Are All the Same Full Track Listing:

1. Thought of a Vision
2. In Our Heads
3. Immerse Me
4. Common Grave
5. Tides
6. Diverge (feat. Tom Brümmer)
7. Can You See Me
8. Disease
9. Shelter

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